Roland Watson

After months spent looking for financial links between President Putin and his oligarch friends, The Times had some questions for the Kremlin. Some were general: did Mr Putin really believe, as he had stated, that western sanctions were actually helping the Russian economy? Did he really have a

Refugees from Syria are exacerbating a looming energy crisis that threatens to plunge the Middle East into a wave of violent uprisings far bloodier than the Arab Spring, Prince Hassan of Jordan has warned. Unless Arab states unite to solve the region’s increasingly acute shortages, they will be

Saudi Arabia warned yesterday that it would not sit idly by if Britain, the US and other world powers failed to curb Iran’s ambitious nuclear programme. “All options are available,” said Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz, Ambassador to London, fuelling concern that the nervous Gulf states

Shops and factories will be paid to ration electricity to avoid nationwide power blackouts under a drastic government plan announced yesterday. Household energy bills would have to rise to compensate companies for turning off lighting and machinery during winter nights. It comes after the

Emmeline Pankhurst, the sufragette leader, should be commemorated on a banknote, Ed Miliband is expected say today as he warns of a “crisis” in how women are seen in British culture. A failure to include any women on sterling notes would give a terrible signal about what kind of country the UK

An assault on welfare including a seven-day delay before the newly unemployed receive dole money was announced yesterday as George Osborne spelt out a sixth year of austerity. Migrants will lose benefits if they refuse to improve their English to the equivalent of an average 9-year-old under the

George Osborne will announce the first steps towards performance-related pay across the public sector today as he scraps automatic salary rises linked with time served. Setting out plans to cut public spending by £11.5 billion in 2015-16, the Chancellor will impose a further squeeze on the wages

Nick Clegg will make electoral reform the price of going into coalition with David Cameron or Ed Miliband after the next election. A mansion tax, income tax cuts for millions and new green targets are likely to form other “red lines” for the Lib Dems in any negotiations in May 2015. The party

David Cameron is to insist that GM foods are safe for children to eat even as he tries to keep his own family out of a combustible public debate. Downing Street said yesterday that the Prime Minister had no intention of answering direct questions about what he fed his children. However, 24 hours

David Cameron promised to refrain from plunging Britain “recklessly” into deeper involvement in the Syrian conflict yesterday as MPs warned that he would lose a Commons vote on arming anti-Assad rebels. The Prime Minister said that it was impossible to ignore the escalating slaughter in Syria and